WWME-CD

WWME-CD is a low-power Class A television station serving Chicago, Illinois, and one of the principal broadcast properties of locally based Weigel Broadcasting. The station is best known as the flagship outlet of MeTV, Weigel’s national multicast network devoted primarily to classic American television, and as a Chicago outlet for the company’s Heroes & Icons service. Its studios are shared with sister stations WCIU-TV and WMEU-CD on Halsted Street in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood. Its transmitter is located at Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop. The station began broadcasting on October 28, 1987, under the call sign W23AT. It initially operated as a translator for WFBT, another Weigel-related station. In 2001, it became WFBT-CA and adopted a brokered-time ethnic programming format. This period connected the station to the ethnic and multilingual programming tradition historically associated with WCIU-TV, although the service later moved to another Weigel outlet when channel 23 was repositioned. MeTV first appeared on the station on January 6, 2003, as a daytime programming block. The format assembled recognizable series from the 1950s through the 1980s, including sitcoms, variety programs and other syndicated library titles. The block expanded and changed its schedule during its first years. On December 31, 2005, the station was renamed WWME-CA and MeTV became its full-time identity, replacing the previous ethnic format. This transformation established the station as a dedicated classic-television outlet rather than simply a local independent channel. Weigel subsequently used WWME and sister station WMEU-CD as laboratories for different versions of the MeTV concept. The stations carried different mixes of comedies, dramas and films, and WWME also aired selected Chicago Public Schools Public League sports. A Spanish-language weekend experiment, Sí! MeTV, began in 2007 with dubbed programs and Latino-oriented public-affairs content, but ended in January 2009. By 2009, WWME had moved toward a sitcom-heavy schedule while WMEU emphasized dramatic programs and films. A major turning point came in November 2010, when Weigel announced that MeTV would become a national multicast network. The network launched on December 15, 2010, with WWME as its flagship and effective owned-and-operated originating station. The national service concentrated on familiar programs from earlier decades, while related Weigel outlets could carry complementary programming. WWME’s limited-power signal does not cover all of the Chicago market, so the station’s MeTV programming has also been distributed through a widescreen standard-definition simulcast on WCIU-TV’s digital subchannel 26.3. This arrangement extended the flagship service to viewers across the broader market. The station has also carried other Weigel network services. Bounce TV was added to digital subchannel 23.2 when that network launched in September 2011. In September 2014, the subchannel became a charter affiliate of Heroes & Icons, a Weigel-owned network centered on classic drama, action and adventure programming. WWME’s technical history includes an early digital launch for a Chicago low-power station in March 2008, an analog nightlight role during the national digital transition in 2009, and the shutdown of its analog signal on January 7, 2015. Today, WWME-CD functions less as a conventional locally originated independent station than as a strategic flagship and distribution point within Weigel Broadcasting’s multicast-network portfolio. Its importance derives from its role in the development and national expansion of MeTV, its relationship with WCIU-TV and WMEU-CD, and its continuing service to Chicago viewers through both its own low-power transmission and wider-market digital carriage.

WWME-CD signed on October 28, 1987, as W23AT, a low-power translator for WFBT. In 2001, the station adopted the WFBT-CA call sign and operated with brokered-time ethnic programming. This format reflected the multilingual and ethnic-programming heritage of Weigel’s Chicago television properties, but it was eventually displaced by the MeTV concept. On January 6, 2003, the station introduced MeTV as a daytime block featuring television programs from earlier decades. The block developed through several schedule changes and gradually occupied more of the broadcast day. On December 31, 2005, the station became WWME-CA and MeTV was made its full-time format. The change transformed channel 23 into a dedicated classic-television service and created the foundation for MeTV’s later national expansion. Weigel continued to experiment with the format and its relationship to sister station WMEU-CA, later WMEU-CD. In 2007, WWME launched Sí! MeTV, a weekend block of Spanish-dubbed classic programs and later Latino-oriented public-affairs programming. The block was discontinued in January 2009. In 2008, WMEU adopted the MeToo identity as a related service. The two stations initially had similar schedules, but their programming was later differentiated, with one outlet concentrating more heavily on sitcoms and the other on dramas and films. WWME also carried some Chicago Public Schools Public League sports. In September 2009, WWME adopted a sitcom-oriented schedule, while WMEU’s MeToo service focused on off-network dramas and films. This division was adjusted again as Weigel prepared to nationalize MeTV. On November 22, 2010, the company announced that MeTV would become a national multicast network. The network launched on December 15, 2010, with WWME as its flagship station. WCIU-TV also provided a broader-market digital simulcast, helping compensate for WWME’s limited-power coverage area. The station’s digital development began early. WWME activated a digital signal on UHF channel 39 on March 11, 2008, making it one of the first low-power stations in the Chicago market to operate digitally. During the 2009 national digital transition, its analog facility carried temporary nightlight programming, including simulcasts of WCIU-TV and selected newscasts from WMAQ-TV and WGN-TV. The analog service later carried related Weigel programming before being discontinued on January 7, 2015. WWME added Bounce TV to digital subchannel 23.2 in September 2011. On September 29, 2014, the subchannel changed to Heroes & Icons, a Weigel-owned network focused on classic drama and action programming. The station remains a Weigel Broadcasting property and continues to serve as a Chicago flagship and distribution outlet for the company’s multicast-network portfolio.

• 2015

  Analog signal is discontinued

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  WWME ends analog broadcasting and continues as a digital station.

• 2014

  Heroes & Icons replaces Bounce TV

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  Digital subchannel 23.2 becomes a charter Heroes & Icons affiliate.

• 2011

  Bounce TV joins digital subchannel 23.2

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  WWME begins carrying Bounce TV on its second digital subchannel.

• 2010

  MeTV becomes a national network

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  MeTV launches nationally with WWME as its flagship station.

• 2009

  Programming schedules are differentiated

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  WWME emphasizes sitcoms while sister service MeToo on WMEU emphasizes dramas and films.

• 2008

  Digital transmission begins

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  WWME activates its digital signal on UHF channel 39.

• 2007

  Sí! MeTV launches

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The station introduces a Spanish-language weekend block built around dubbed classic programs.

• 2005

  WWME-CA adopts full-time MeTV

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The station receives the WWME-CA call sign and makes MeTV its full-time programming identity.

• 2003

  MeTV debuts as a programming block

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  A daytime block of classic television programs launches on the station.

• 2001

  Call sign changes to WFBT-CA

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The station adopts a brokered-time ethnic programming format.

• 1987

  Station signs on as W23AT

  [1]WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org

  The low-power Chicago station begins broadcasting as a translator for WFBT.

A local flagship and network-distribution platform for Weigel Broadcasting’s classic-television and multicast services, with MeTV as its defining identity.

• Classic television network · 2003

  MeTV

  MeTV is WWME-CD’s defining programming service and the network for which the station serves as Chicago flagship. Its schedule is built primarily around syndicated American television series from the 1950s through the 1980s, including sitcoms, variety programs, dramas and other library titles. The service began locally as a daytime block in 2003, became WWME’s full-time format in 2005, and expanded nationally in 2010.

• Classic drama and action network · 2014

  Heroes & Icons

  Heroes & Icons is a Weigel-owned multicast network carried by WWME-CD’s digital subchannel 23.2 since September 2014. Its programming emphasis is on classic drama, action, adventure and related off-network series. The service replaced Bounce TV on the subchannel and gives WWME an additional role within Weigel’s national network distribution system.

• Spanish-language programming block · 2007

  Sí! MeTV

  Sí! MeTV was a weekend morning programming block introduced in 2007. It presented Spanish-dubbed versions of classic programs and later included public-affairs material aimed at Chicago’s Latino population. The block was an early attempt to extend the MeTV identity to a Spanish-speaking audience, but it was discontinued on January 25, 2009.

• Related classic television service · 2008

  MeToo

  MeToo was a related Weigel classic-television service carried by sister station WMEU-CA while WWME served as the primary MeTV outlet. The two stations used complementary scheduling, with MeToo at different points emphasizing older dramatic programs, films and selected later library titles. Its development helped Weigel test how multiple classic-programming outlets could coexist in the Chicago market.

• 2014

  Replace Bounce TV with Heroes & IconsStrategy

  Background

  Weigel was developing Heroes & Icons as another national multicast service focused on classic drama and action programming.

  Action taken

  WWME ended its Bounce TV affiliation on September 29, 2014, and became a charter Heroes & Icons affiliate.

  Aftermath

  The change aligned the station’s digital subchannel more closely with Weigel’s expanding owned-network portfolio.

  Source

• 2011

  Add Bounce TV to digital subchannel 23.2Product launch

  Background

  Weigel entered an affiliation arrangement to distribute the newly launched Bounce TV service.

  Action taken

  WWME began carrying Bounce TV on digital subchannel 23.2 in September 2011.

  Aftermath

  The subchannel later changed affiliations as Weigel expanded its own Heroes & Icons network.

  Source

• 2010

  Expand MeTV into a national multicast networkStrategy

  Background

  Weigel’s local MeTV format had developed into a recognizable classic-television service, alongside growing competition from other multicast networks.

  Action taken

  Weigel announced a national MeTV network and launched it on December 15, 2010, with WWME as the flagship station.

  Aftermath

  WWME became the originating flagship for a broader network, while WCIU-TV’s digital subchannel helped distribute the service across the Chicago market.

  Source

• 2005

  Make MeTV the station’s full-time formatStrategy

  Background

  MeTV had developed as a daytime block on the former WFBT-CA, while the station had previously carried brokered ethnic programming.

  Action taken

  Weigel changed the call sign to WWME-CA and converted the station to a full-time MeTV service.

  Aftermath

  The move established WWME as the central Chicago outlet for the MeTV brand and prepared the format for later national distribution.

  Source

1. 1WWME-CDen.wikipedia.org
2. 2MeTV official websitemetvnetwork.com